Kamis, 07 April 2011

Basic Song Structure - Using the Elements of Songwriting to Your Advantage

I'm a mom and I love to write music as a hobby. I've read many books on the topic, and have a bunch of methods ...

Songwriting has been around for ages but has evolved over the years to become a powerful and emotional experience for listeners worldwide. As listeners' expectations have evolved, so has the craft of songwriting. The basic song structure has changed to accommodate and enhance memorability and emotional impact of contemporary songs.

The most oldest and most basic song structure is called the Folk Form. The Folk Form is constructed as follows:
Verse/verse/verse/verse/etc...
The Folk Form was basically a method of storytelling. All of the verses would contribute to the story, but they would all have a line in common. This line is called a refrain. The refrain is typically at the beginning or end of each verse, and helps to tie the story together and create a sense of listener expectation.
This form of song structure is not effective in today's music market because of the lack of variation. Today's audience requires a lot more contrast, and that is why the Folk Form changed to the Basic Form.
The Basic Form is constructed as follows:
verse/verse/bridge/verse
It too has a refrain at either the beginning or the end of each verse, but it has a bridge after a couple of verses. A bridge provides melodic and lyrical variation so that the listener doesn't get too bored of the song. It also helps to convey the emotions and ideas of today's song topics.
The main structure of today's hits is called the Chorus Form. The chorus form is constructed as follows:
Verse/Chorus/Verse/Chorus/Bridge/Chorus.
The chorus was added because songwriters learned through the refrain that the listener liked the repetition, and they also liked the melodic variation of the bridge. They incorporated both into a chorus, which sums up the main idea of the song while providing a change in the melody. The chorus is a powerful aspect of today's songs because of the repetition and memorability it provides.
Basic Song Structure was crafted over the years to enhance the listening experience of today's hits. If you want to create your own work, its not necessary to follow the structures. If you want to craft a great song that will hook a large audience, it is basically mandatory to stick with a contemporary song structure.